Bonjour! Welcome to the coverage of day two in the ProTour time trial event, Chrono des Herbiers! Let's look back at the action from yesterday by going through the results in reverse order. First everyone who finished outside the top twenty:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
72
Davide Ballerini
Aegon - Peroni
+ 11'30
71
Yu Takenouchi
cycleYorkshire
+ 9'33
70
Jodok Salzmann
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 7'47
69
Nur Amirul Marzuki
Evonik - ELKO
+ 7'17
68
Gabriel Chavanne
Evonik - ELKO
+ 7'05
67
Adam Blythe
Evonik - ELKO
+ 6'04
66
Michael Vanthourenhout
King Power
+ 5'01
65
Tobias Foss
Aker - MOT
+ 4'51
64
Adam Phelan
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 4'35
63
Kamil Gradek
Isostar - Specialized
+ 4'26
62
Fausto Masnada
Generali
+ 4'17
61
Tom Bohli
Team UBS
+ 4'12
60
Nicholas Dlamini
ISA - Hexacta
+ 4'00
59
Ka Hoo Fung
King Power
+ 3'53
58
Salah Eddine Mraouni
ISA - Hexacta
+ 3'52
57
Gregory Daniel
Isostar - Specialized
+ 3'34
56
Martin Schäppi
Team UBS
+ 3'32
55
Morgan Kneisky
EA Vesuvio
+ 3'28
54
Omer Goldstein
eBuddy
+ 3'25
53
Jacob Salcone
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 3'22
52
Miles Scotson
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 3'20
51
Geoffroy Ngandamba
GCN Racing
+ 3'08
50
Steven Burke
GCN Racing
+ 3'02
49
John Archibald
GCN Racing
+ 3'01
48
Michal Kukrle
Moser - Sygic
+ 2'59
47
Stefan De Bod
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 2'54
46
Manuele Boaro
Gazelle
+ 2'53
45
Filippo Ganna
Team Puma - SAP
+ 2'52
44
Rei Onodera
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 2'51
43
Frederik Frison
Aegon - Peroni
+ 2'48
42
Eduardo Sepulveda
ISA - Hexacta
+ 2'48
41
Nikolaos Ioannidis
Festina - OAKA
+ 2'46
40
Jose Fernandes
Generali
+ 2'45
39
Brendan Canty
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 2'44
38
Justin Wolf
Indosat Ooredoo
+ 2'40
37
Phan Age Haugard
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 2'28
36
Lars Boom
Aegon - Peroni
+ 2'26
35
Daniel Turek
Moser - Sygic
+ 2'25
34
Pim Ligthart
Indosat Ooredoo
+ 2'17
33
Ivo Oliveira
Generali
+ 2'16
32
Riccardo Zoidl
Festina - OAKA
+ 2'15
31
Dion Beukeboom
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 2'14
30
Hampus Anderberg
Aker - MOT
+ 2'14
29
Neilson Powless
Gazelle
+ 2'12
28
King Lok Cheung
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 2'05
27
Michael Valgren Andersen
Air France - KLM
+ 2'04
26
Nils Politt
Team Puma - SAP
+ 2'04
25
Benoit Cosnefroy
Grieg-Maersk
+ 2'01
24
Mathieu Bernaudeau
Air France - KLM
+ 1'58
23
Lasse Norman Hansen
Grieg-Maersk
+ 1'58
22
Bob Jungels
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'58
21
Jakub Kaczmarek
eBuddy
+ 1'58
And now the top twenty:
20
Anton Vorobev
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 1'54
19
Victor Campenaerts
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 1'54
18
Yoann Paillot
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 1'45
17
Dylan Van Baarle
cycleYorkshire
+ 1'37
16
Ho-Ting Kwok
Air France - KLM
+ 1'30
15
Dennis Van Winden
King Power
+ 1'23
14
Jasha Sütterlin
Team Puma - SAP
+ 1'22
13
Tanel Kangert
Gazelle
+ 1'21
12
Michael Hepburn
Moser - Sygic
+ 1'18
11
Adrian Malori
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 1'17
10
Andreas Vangstad
Aker - MOT
+ 1'16
9
Silvan Dillier
Team UBS
+ 1'14
8
Steven Lammertink
eBuddy
+ 1'10
7
Tom Wirtgen
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'07
6
Kiril Yatsevich
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 1'05
5
Luke Durbridge
cycleYorkshire
+ 58
4
Panagiotis Vlatos
Festina - OAKA
+ 47
3
Martijn Keizer
Indosat Ooredoo
+ 23
2
Taylor Phinney
Isostar - Specialized
+ 21
1
Mads Würtz
Grieg-Maersk
1h00'16
So, Würtz has the lead going into the second half, completing the 48 kilometer in just over an hour. However, Phinney and Keizer are within 25 seconds which is definitely losable if the Dane has a bad sleep or the American or Dutchman has saved some energy. Vlatos and Durbridge are within one minute, with places six to twenty-four between one and two minutes.
Some surprising results are Wirtgen in seventh, Vangstad in tenth and Kangert in thirteenth, while some of the disappointments are Paillot in eighteenth, Bernaudeau in twenty-fourth and Haugard in thirty-seventh.
And so the second day starts with Ballerini, who finished last on day one by two minutes to Takenouchi. The Italian is once more the slowest of the day, taking the red lantern.
The first mentionable time of the day comes from Ganna, who had a quite underwhelming day one with a 45th time. 1h02'13 is 55 seconds faster than yesterday under similar conditions, so should move himself back up the rankings a bit.
Haugard also disappointed yesterday, finishing 37th. He takes provisional second place at eleven seconds from Ganna, but moves into the virtual GC lead by thirteen seconds.
Ligthart is not in top shape these two days. 1h02'33 yesterday but a 1h03'17 today and will finish outside the GC top 35.
Andersen post the exact same time on both legs, 1h02'20. He falls five seconds short of Ganna's stage time.
Politt had the same time the Dane on stage one, but is 21 seconds slower on stage two. It costs him two places in the GC, also one to Powless.
Meanwhile, the top five is about to pass the first checkpoint at 12.5 kilometer, the fastest time there so far belonging to Dillier at 15'06.
Durbridge is one second faster to move to the top of the leaderboard.
Vlatos loses two seconds to the Australian after a quarter. The Greek's lead in the GC is eleven seconds, so he has a small margin. He shouldn't lose much more though.
Keizer posts the same time as Vlatos, also two seconds to Durbridge. He has a 35-second advantage so doesn't have to look behind just yet, but can he look forward?
Phinney could lose two seconds to the Dutchman but instead gains twelve! He smashes the fastest time of Durbridge by ten seconds!
Würtz also receives this information, should he be worried? He does not beat Phinney's time but places second at four seconds, losing 25% of his advantage after 25% of the race. The top two seems clear, but the exact order might be decided by the closest of margins!
The full overview at checkpoint one (+/- to standings before the stage):
Stage
Rider
Time
GC
Rider
Time
+/-
1
Phinney
14'55
1
Würtz
1h15'15
=0
2
Würtz
+ 4
2
Phinney
+ 17
=0
3
Durbridge
+ 10
3
Keizer
+ 31
=0
4
Dillier
+ 11
4
Vlatos
+ 55
=0
5
Keizer
+ 12
5
Durbridge
+ 58
=0
6
Vlatos
+ 12
6
Yatsevich
+ 1'17
=0
7
Yatsevich
+ 16
7
Dillier
+ 1'21
-2
8
Lammertink
+ 16
8
Lammertink
+ 1'22
=0
9
Sütterlin
+ 16
9
Malori
+ 1'31
-2
10
Paillot
+ 16
10
Sütterlin
+ 1'34
-4
Bernaudeau is the first rider to dive under Ganna's time at the finish line, doing so by 33 seconds. The Frenchman shows an improvement of 34 seconds.
Jungels only improves his time by fifteen seconds, being virtual second on the stage and GC behind the rider with whom he set the same time yesterday.
We now await the finish of yesterday's top twenty. A overview of the current top ten on the finish line and the virtual GC of those who finished (+/- to standings before the stage):
Stage
Rider
Time
+/-
GC
Rider
Time
+/-
1
Bernaudeau
1h01'42
1
Bernaudeau
2h03'56
-3
2
Jungels
+ 18
2
Jungels
+ 18
=0
3
Ganna
+ 33
3
Andersen
+ 44
-4
4
Andersen
+ 38
4
Hansen
+ 1'00
+1
5
Haugard
+ 44
5
Powless
+ 1'03
-4
6
Fernandes
+ 48
6
Politt
+ 1'05
=0
7
Powless
+ 49
7
Zoidl
+ 1'11
-5
8
Frison
s.t.
8
Kaczmarek
+ 1'12
+7
9
Zoidl
+ 54
9
Oliveira
s.t.
-4
10
Oliveira
s.t.
10
Haugard
+ 1'14
-7
Vorobev ties with Jungels for second place on the day. In the GC it means Bernaudeau has passed him.
2
Jungels
+ 18
1
Bernaudeau
2h03'56
-4
3
Vorobev
s.t.
2
Vorobev
+ 14
+1
4
Ganna
+ 33
3
Jungels
+ 18
=0
Campenaerts only reaches provisional seventh, + 47 to Bernaudeau and losing three GC positions.
6
Haugard
+ 44
3
Jungels
+ 18
-1
7
Campenaerts
+ 47
4
Campenaerts
+ 43
+3
8
Fernandes
+ 48
5
Andersen
+ 44
-4
Paillot took tenth at the first checkpoint and is just pushed down from first on the second by Dillier with eight to pass. No surprise he takes the fastest time from his countryman Bernaudeau at the finish line by fourteen seconds.
1
Paillot
1h01'28
1
Paillot
2h03'29
=0
2
Bernaudeau
+ 14
2
Bernaudeau
+ 27
-5
3
Jungels
+ 32
3
Vorobev
+ 41
=0
Van Baarle following the yellow jersey, who turns left for his second lap. The Dutchman goes right to the finish line where he puts himself in fifth place, + 45. Obviously it is not enough to keep Paillot behind overall, but Bernaudeau also sneaks past.
4
Vorobev
s.t.
2
Bernaudeau
+ 27
-6
5
Van Baarle
+ 45
3
Van Baarle
+ 37
+2
6
Ganna
+ 47
4
Vorobev
+ 41
=0
Kwok could lose fifteen seconds but ends up losing twenty-one. Air France currently have second and third, but it's another Frenchman at the top of the sheets.
2
Bernaudeau
+ 14
1
Paillot
2h03'29
-2
3
Kwok
+ 21
2
Kwok
+ 6
+1
4
Jungels
+ 32
3
Bernaudeau
+ 27
-6
Van Winden cannot replicate his performance from yesterday, barely making the provisional stage top ten. It costs him four spots in the most important, combined classification. He's unfortunate to be put behind fellow van Van Baarle on milliseconds.
9
Haugard
+ 58
4
Van Baarle
+ 37
+1
10
Van Winden
+ 59
5
Van Winden
s.t.
+4
11
Campenaerts
+ 1'01
6
Vorobev
+ 41
=0
Sütterlin comes closest to Paillot so far but has to concede eight seconds. It is more than enough to take the virtual yellow jersey.
1
Paillot
1h01'28
1
Sütterlin
2h03'14
=0
2
Sütterlin
+ 8
2
Paillot
+ 15
-3
3
Bernaudeau
+ 14
3
Kwok
+ 21
=0
Now we have to do a bit of multi-tasking as the top riders reach the checkpoint for the second time. Dillier again the fastest outside the top five at 45'05.
Durbridge had two seconds on him after twelve kilometer, it has grown to nine after thirty-six kilometer.
Catching the replay of Kangert's finish, who has the worst time of any top twenty rider so far, + 1'19 to Paillot and is in real danger of falling out of the top twenty over two stages.
19
Hansen
+ 1'14
8
Jungels
+ 1'00
-2
20
Kangert
+ 1'19
9
Kangert
+ 1'10
+8
21
Canty
+ 1'21
10
Campenaerts
+ 1'25
+3
Vlatos moves ahead of Dillier from the first to second intermediate, but the gap to Durbridge is the important thing here. It is seven seconds now, meaning the Australian needs four seconds on the final sector to gain the Greek's place.
Hepburn at the finish line, also worsening on the second day though not to the extremes of Kangert. Nevertheless, he drops down seven positions and has to hope others suffer the same fate.
17
Oliveira
s.t.
7
Vorobev
+ 56
-2
18
Hepburn
+ 1'10
8
Hepburn
+ 58
+7
19
Politt
+ 1'13
9
Jungels
+ 1'00
-2
Keizer has picked up the pace, as he takes the fastest time on the second timing point by two seconds. It won't bring him back in contention for the top two, but the final spot on the podium seems secured barring mechanical trouble.
Malori was a second off the top ten yesterday, but hopes to gain access today. With the fourth time of the day, he has to hope some ahead of him have a worse day, as it means Sütterlin sneaks ahead by two seconds.
3
Bernaudeau
+ 14
1
Sütterlin
2h03'14
-3
4
Malori
+ 15
2
Malori
+ 2
+1
5
Kwok
+ 21
3
Paillot
+ 15
-5
Steamroller Phinney rolls on to checkpoint two, where he once again annihilates the field. Thirty-seven seconds faster than Keizer! What is the answer of Würtz?
First we move back to the finish line to watch Vangstad. He didn't impress on the checkpoints and will lose a lot of positions, to Sütterlin, Malori, Paillot, Kwok, Bernaudeau, Van Baarle, Van Winden, Vorobev, Hepburn and Jungels respectively.
21
Hansen
+ 1'14
10
Jungels
+ 1'00
-3
22
Vangstad
+ 1'18
11
Vangstad
+ 1'04
+10
23
Kangert
+ 1'19
12
Kangert
+ 1'10
+8
Würtz knows what's asked of him in the final quarter of the race. He has a deficit of nineteen seconds to Phinney on the stage, meaning his aggregate lead is down to only two seconds. Extrapolating from the two checkpoints he'll fall short by a few seconds, but he could have saved energy for a final dash, or Phinney might have overcooked himself. While it looks bleak for the Dane, it certainly isn't over just yet!
The full overview at checkpoint one (+/- to standings at checkpoint one and before the stage respectively):
Stage
Rider
Time
+/-
GC
Rider
Time
+/-
1
Phinney
44'17
=0
1
Würtz
1h44'52
=0
2
Würtz
+ 19
=0
2
Phinney
+ 2
=0
3
Keizer
+ 37
-2
3
Keizer
+ 41
=0
4
Durbridge
+ 39
+1
4
Vlatos
+ 1'14
=0
5
Vlatos
+ 46
-1
5
Durbridge
+ 1'18
=0
6
Dillier
+ 48
+2
6
Dillier
+ 1'43
-3
7
Paillot
+ 54
-3
7
Yatsevich
+ 1'48
+1
8
Sütterlin
+ 58
-2
8
Lammertink
+ 1'51
=0
9
Bernaudeau
+ 59
-2
9
Sütterlin
+ 2'01
-5
10
Lammertink
+ 1'00
+2
10
Malori
+ 2'03
-1
Dillier is "best of the rest" on the stage. He brings the leading time down to 1h01'23, five seconds faster than Paillot. Could he also take sixth in the final standings?
1
Dillier
1h01'23
1
Dillier
2h02'53
=0
2
Paillot
+ 5
2
Sütterlin
+ 21
-4
3
Sütterlin
+ 13
3
Malori
+ 23
=0
The Swiss needs to gain four seconds on Lammertink. While the Dutchman rode the exact same tempo on the final sector, the twelve second deficit from earlier in the stage is enough to lose a place in the GC, though guaranteed to gain one back with the next finisher.
2
Paillot
+ 5
1
Dillier
2h02'53
-1
3
Lammertink
+ 12
2
Lammertink
+ 8
+1
4
Sütterlin
+ 13
3
Sütterlin
+ 21
-4
That finisher is Wirtgen, who has a terrible day and barely avoids being overtaken by Yatsevich on the road. He is currently in 26th place on the stage and 11th on the GC, to be pushed down to 32nd and 17th once the remaining six riders are in. He still would have won the hypothetical youth classification, but the white jersey means nothing in this race.
25
Kangert
+ 1'24
10
Vorobev
+ 1'17
-4
26
Wirtgen
s.t.
11
Wirtgen
s.t.
+10
27
Canty
+ 1'26
12
Hepburn
+ 1'19
+6
So we can remain on the finish line to watch Yatsevich. The Russian is nineteen seconds off the best time which unfortunately means he loses two places, to Dillier and Lammertink.
5
Bernaudeau
+ 19
2
Lammertink
+ 8
-1
6
Yatsevich
s.t.
3
Yatsevich
+ 10
+2
7
Malori
+ 20
4
Sütterlin
+ 21
-5
Durbridge kicks off the decisive few minutes for the podium places. No surprise the Australian goes to the top of both leaderboards, 1h01'08 and 2h02'22. He's a few seconds faster than his performance yesterday.
1
Durbridge
1h01'08
1
Durbridge
2h02'22
=0
2
Dillier
+ 15
2
Dillier
+ 31
-3
3
Paillot
+ 20
3
Lammertink
+ 39
-1
Vlatos had eleven seconds, seven of which were used up on the final checkpoint. The Greek lost three more seconds to finish at ten seconds, and remain ahead by a singular second!
1
Durbridge
1h01'08
1
Vlatos
2h02'21
=0
2
Vlatos
+ 10
2
Durbridge
+ 1
=0
3
Dillier
+ 15
3
Dillier
+ 32
-3
Keizer's job is to defend the podium. En passant he takes the fastest time of the day by nine seconds, which probably isn't enough to give him hope for more.
1
Keizer
1h00'59
1
Keizer
2h01'38
=0
2
Durbridge
+ 9
2
Vlatos
+ 43
=0
3
Vlatos
+ 19
3
Durbridge
+ 44
=0
Here's Phinney! He took an hour and six seconds to ride the 48 kilometer, which is ten seconds faster than the winning time from yesterday and 31 seconds faster than his own. But is it enough for the win?
1
Phinney
1h00'06
1
Phinney
2h00'43
=0
2
Keizer
+ 53
2
Keizer
+ 55
=0
3
Durbridge
+ 1'02
3
Vlatos
+ 1'38
=0
...
...
...
...
...
Würtz finishes in 1h00'38, which means he is 32 seconds slower on the day and sees a twenty-one second lead being turned into an eleven second defeat. He gave it all on the final part, but it was not enough. It's the closest anyone has ever been to Phinney in the two-day era, though that will mean nothing to the Dane who came so close to defeating the American.
1
Phinney
1h00'06
1
Phinney
2h00'43
-1
2
Würtz
+ 32
2
Würtz
+ 11
+1
3
Keizer
+ 53
3
Keizer
+ 55
=0
The fastest time on the second day brings Taylor Phinney his back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back victory, after looking beatable on day one. Mads Würtz had it in his own hand but couldn't handle the pressure, going home with a silver medal and an irrelevant stage win. Third on all three counts is Martijn Keizer, who adds bronze to his prize cabinet, having won silver the previous year. While Panagiotis Vlatos finished behind Luke Durbridge today, he holds him off by one second on the actual result. Silvan Dillier with a sixth time on today's time sheet, moving him up from ninth to that same position.
The stage top ten is completed by Paillot, Lammertink, Sütterlin and Bernaudeau. In the general classification, the order is Lammertink, Yatsevich, Sütterlin and Malori. Paillot is one of the big gainers, going up seven places from eighteenth to eleventh, with Kwok going from sixteenth to twelfth. Bernaudeau ascends from twenty-fourth to thirteenth, a net gain of eleven positions.
Fourteenth and fifteenth is decided on milliseconds, with Van Baarle prevailing over Van Winden. A similar situation arises between sixteenth and seventeenth, Vorobev ranking ahead of Wirtgen, who lost ten places today. Vangstad also dropped ten positions, from tenth to twentieth behind Hepburn and Jungels. Kangert is another ride who wishes day two didn't happen, dropping from thirteenth to twenty-first. Campenaerts, Andersen, Hansen and Powless complete the top twenty-five.
The biggest position gain of the day belongs to Ganna, who moved up fourteen places from forty-fifth to thirty-first. Unfortunately, riders placing between thirty-one and fifty all receive ten ranking points, so the gain is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The biggest loser in terms of positions in Anderberg, with minus thirteen from thirtieth to forty-first. As sketched before, places below thirty give the same amount of points so only ends up losing the one extra he had by being the exact number thirty. The red lantern podium has Marzuki in third, Takenouchi in second and Ballerini as absolute slowest rider.
